What is the meaning of yellow? Is it the cheerful daffodil, the harbinger of spring? Is it our life-giving sun, ball of warmth and light? Or is it the color of jaundice, of illness? Sunny or sickly, yellow’s meaning pervades our lives.

Meaning Of Yellow: Explained

Sunny yellows are cheerful hues, the color of warmth and spring daffodils. So why, then, do we have so many negative associations with the color yellow?

Let’s explore our reactions to this divisive color.

Physical Effects

Yellow is absolutely invigorating. It stimulates our nerves, glands, and brain, making us more alert and energized. Yellow boosts our memory, and it encourages communication. It’s a color that promotes activity and interaction.

The #color yellow boosts our memory, and it encourages communication.

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Symbolism And Meaning Of Yellow

All the world over, yellow is associated with the sun and its life-giving warmth.Yellow also stands for caution, and it’s used for traffic warning signs and traffic signals in nearly every country. Yellow is optimism and the cheerfulness of a sunny day.

Positive Associations

We associate yellow with warmth, sunshine, and positivity. Bright yellow is an attention-getter, and its contrast with black is the most visible color combination. It’s enthusiasm and enlightenment, and yellow is – in practical terms – the opposite of dark and dull.

The #color yellow is associated with warmth, sunshine, and positivity.

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Negative Associations

Despite its association with cheerfulness and warmth, yellow carries a surprising number of negative connotations. Yellow is a symbol of cowardice, of sickness, and of mental illness. It’s the color of sensationalism and even of excess. Vibrant yellow is typically used with caution by designers, though paler yellows can certainly have a modest uplifting effect. Too much bright yellow can easily overwhelm a project.

Yellow Chakra Color

Chakras are energy centers within the body that help to regulate all its processes. Each chakra governs specific functions and is represented by one of the seven chakra colors.

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Yellow:The color of the Solar Plexus chakra, also known as Manipura. This chakra is located in the stomach area and is linked to organs and muscular system in that area. The Solar Plexus chakra is representative of vitality and will. When this chakra is open, it acts to empower a person and help them find their personal strength. It will help turn dreams and goals into reality. Gemstones that will aid the Solar Plexus chakra include amber, topaz, citrine, yellow calcite, yellow jasper.

Yellow Birthstone Colors

Yellow Color Morsels

Yellow jackets are aggressive wasps, and they prey on a number of other insects and larvae. They are easily provoked, particularly by noise or vibration. Yellow jackets don’t pollinate plants like bees, and they become increasingly aggressive as their colony grows in size and food becomes scarce in colder months.

The yellow harbinger of spring–the daffodil–is one of the few bulbs that squirrels won’t eat. The bulbs contain crystals that are toxic to every animal but a few insects. Daffodils are the national flower of Wales, and there are over 13,000 different hybrids.

Though there are more than 1000 different kinds of banana plants in the world, most of them don’t taste good. Nearly all commercial banana plants are the Cavendish variety, and as bananas ripen, they turn from green to yellow, the sugar levels rise, and the flesh becomes creamier.

Read About the Color Yellow

Yellow Words, Phrases And Idioms

Examples of how the meaning of yellow colors our language:

Yellow-bellied: a cowardly manner

Yellow fever: a disease involving high fever and jaundice that is common in the tropics

Yellow jack: a flag flown on a vessel to show that it is under quarantine

Yellow-dog contract: a contract which denies a person the right to join a worker's union

Oh yes! He loved yellow, did good Vincent… When the two of us were together in Arles, both of us insane, and constantly at war over beautiful colors, I adored red; where could I find a perfect vermilion?

How do you paint yellow wheat against a yellow sky? You paint it jet black.

Ben Shahn, Lithuanian-born American social realist painter and photographer, 1898-1969

Indian yellow, banned. Cows were poisoned with mango leaves and the color was made from their urine. It is the bright yellow in Indian miniatures. Although yellow occupies one-twentieth of the spectrum, it is the brightest color.

More Intriguing Facts About Yellow

Yellow As A Signature Color

A signature color is different than a favorite color although for some people they many be one and the same. It is all in how you express yourself with a color and how consistently you wear it or surround yourself with the color that makes it your signature shade.

Kate Hudson - Although often seen wearing yellow it was her gorgeous yellow dress seen on the movie poster for How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days that showcased how amazing this celebrity looks surround by her signature color.

Solange Knowles - It is her absolute favorite color. The color looks so good on her, that big sister, Beyoncé, has even been known to get in on the act.

Color And Our Sense Of Smell: Yellow

It’s not just emotion that makes scent powerful. It’s closely tied to your memories, as well. Smell also plays a major role in our ability to taste. When combined with with color those connections become even stronger.

The yellow colored Magic Scents Crayons labeled "Lemon" from Binney & Smith Inc. was originally scented to smell like lemons. However, after numerous reports that children were "eating" the food-scented crayons the company changed to less tasty options. The scent for the color yellow became “Daffodil.”

Lemon scent enhances cognitive performance. Doing a hard crossword puzzle or taking the law boards? Suck on lemon drops. People smelling lemon report that they feel better than people smelling other pleasant scents - a scent-sory bonus! - Psychology Today

Lemon Peel has a very strong, fresh lemon scent with the aromatherapy benefits of being uplifting, refreshing, cheering, stimulating, and rejuvenating.

Color Taste Connection: Yellow

There are five basic groups of taste, which send signals to our brain to interpret flavor. However, we also send signals with our eyes before we take a bite and give our taste buds a chance to process the flavor. The color can pre-determine how we perceive the taste and flavor of what we eat.

Wonderfully sweet with firm and creamy flesh, bananas come prepackaged in their own yellow jackets. They are America’s favorite tropical fruit.

The exceptional juiciness and vibrant tropical flavor of the pineapple, which balances the tastes of sweet and tart, makes them only second to bananas as America’s favorite tropical fruit.

Juicy and sweet, with a soft, buttery, yet somewhat grainy texture, the white to cream-colored flesh of pears was once referred to as the “gift of the gods.”

We are just beginning to discover the wealth of nourishment supplied by the mildly sweet flavored and finely textured winter yellow squash. It was once such an important part of the diet of the American Indians that they buried it along with the dead to provide them nourishment on their final journey to the afterlife.

The Color Yellow In The Garden

Yellow can be loud and brassy; it catches light and brightens any area. Bright yellows combine well with hot colors (red and orange.) Pale yellows combine beautifully with blue. Yellow is an intense color that should be used sparingly; white helps to diffuse the intensity. - New York Botanical Garden

Yellow is considered a warm color in landscape design.

Yellow’s appearance in the garden has a stimulating effect.

Yellow flowers come forward in the landscape, helping to make a large garden feel cozier.

Discover More About The Meaning Of Colors

Talk With Us About the Color Yellow

We'd enjoy knowing what you love about the color yellow or what you most enjoyed about this article. We love hearing from you and read every comment.

Is there something that you know about yellow that should be included here? Great! We’d love to hear from you. Share what you know about the color yellow by leaving a comment below. We may just add it to the information shared on this page.

Alissa, I put this information together long ago and am too busy with client projects right now to find and set up backup drive with the list of references confirming the facts on these pages and I don’t recall why this is the meaning in Greece. I do however see this same fact on several other color related websites but none of them give the reasoning. Sorry I can’t be more helpful but have made note to see if I can dig that up in the future. Let me know if you are successful in finding the answer in the meantime.

YOU ARE AN AMAZING HUMAN BEING YOUR LOVE IS TRANSMITTED TO EVERYONE OF US, WE LOVE YOUR WORK ITS DONE WITH SO MUCH DEDICATION WE APPRECIATE EVERY WORD ON THIS SITE, ITS PURE LOVE YOU ARE LOVE WE ARE LOVE, BECAUSE COLOR IS EVERYWHERE EVEN AT DARK, THE MOON IS WHITE AND EVERY COLOR IS IN WHITE 😀

Hi. I’m Kate Smith, an internationally recognized color expert, consultant, and designer. For many years, I spent hours studying, researching, and designing with color. As a result, I became an exceptional colorist & business consultant sought out by companies worldwide. My goal in sharing my color knowledge and know-how on this site is to help YOU to understand color, create with color confidently, and discover your unique color sense-ability.